Report: Former Raiders, Bucs HC Jon Gruden a candidate for role on Saints staff

The Saints are expected to retain head coach Dennis Allen, but that doesn't mean New Orleans is running it back in 2024. On Monday, NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan reported that the team is considering adding former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden to its staff in an unspecified role.

Per Duncan, Gruden isn't expected to take Pete Carmichael's offensive coordinator role but would instead work alongside the offensive staff after a string of inconsistent seasons since New Orleans' last playoff appearance (2020).

The Saints scored their most points since Christmas Day 2020 in the 2023 season finale, a 48-17 romp over the division-rival Falcons.

While a positive way for the season to end, the year was ultimately a disappointment in quarterback Derek Carr's first season with the organization.

The offense finished 14th in total yards (5,732) and ninth in total points (402) but struggled on third downs and in the red zone, where they ranked 15th and 18th, respectively. The unit improved over the last month of the season, and Carr quietly finished in the top 10 in several passing categories, including completion percentage (sixth), interception rate (1.5 percent) and passer rating (97.7).

Carr's best seasons with the Raiders came with Gruden as his head coach, so a reunion between the two makes sense. Gruden even appeared at the Saints minicamp during the offseason, and Duncan reported he dined with team officials in Tampa Bay ahead of the team's Week 17 game against the Buccaneers.

Gruden won Super Bowl XXXVII during the 2002 season with Tampa Bay. He was fired while in his second stint with the Raiders following a leak of emails in which he used racist, sexist, and homophobic language.

He has an ongoing lawsuit against the league and commissioner Roger Goodell, stemming from his firing, based on his belief that they were responsible for the leaked emails. 

In August 2023, ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. said during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," "Gruden has told people that he will burn the house down, he will burn the NFL down to get the truth."

While returning to the league would be awkward, it wouldn't be unprecedented. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has a racial discrimination lawsuit against the league, which hasn't prevented him from coaching.

Of course, the Saints are no strangers to a coach with a strained relationship with the league office. Former head coach Sean Payton was suspended for an entire season in 2012, stemming from the team's bounty scandal.

In Duncan's report, he wrote that "there is mutual interest between the parties if Gruden does not land a head coaching offer during the upcoming NFL hiring cycle."